The stakes in the iSlate rumor game are growing higher as the Wall Street Journal put its credibility on the line by detailing alleged features of a rumored Apple tablet.

Apple’s mythical tablet, apparently due for a January 27 introduction, is poised to disrupt verticals like education, television, and publishing, the Wall Street Journal asserted in its Thursday piece by Yukari Iwatani Kane and Ethan Smith. Apple has been pitching its gizmo to big publishers like the New York Times Co., Condé Nast Publications Inc., HarperCollins Publishers, and News Corp, the paper claimed.

The Cupertino firm apparently flew its representatives to the Frankfurt Book Fair last October trying to secure content deals ahead of the device launch. Industry sources also told the publication that Apple courted Hollywood giants like CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co. for a premium iTunes TV programming meant to debut alongside the device. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly envisioned the tablet as a family-shared gizmo:

In developing the device, Apple focused on the role the gadget could play in homes and in classrooms, say people familiar with the situation. The company envisions that the tablet can be shared by multiple family members to read news and check email in homes, these people say.

The must-read piece describes an unusually detailed feature set of the non-existent device:

it will have a 10- to 11-inch multitouch screen and cost “about $1,000″

a virtual keyboard for text input

virtual sticky notes

a built-in camera that could automatically recognize users using facial recognition

an accompanying iTunes TV service with “four to six shows” per channel

cloud iTunes to launch June – purchase music on the web, at iTunes.com and other sites incorporating the “buy” button, entirely bypassing the iTunes app on desktops and iPhones

conventional iTunes payment structures could be altered in regard to digital print

a multi-user device, so family members could “read news and check email”

Apple has been exploring electronic-textbook technology for classrooms

content from newspapers and magazines could be presented “differently” on the tablet

Christian’s Opinion

If it weren’t for the Wall Street Journal, I’d dismiss the piece as pure speculation. However, such a respected business paper with direct access to Apple would never risk its brand by publishing hear-say – the Journal must have first-hand knowledge of the situation. Note that many people call the Journal Apple’s unofficial mouthpiece with a good reason. That said, the paper has been at the forefront of Apple tablet rumors, often corroborating Apple Insider’s iSlate pieces.

For example, the Journal reported last August that Steve Jobs was focusing his energies on an alleged tablet project both from work and at home, while on a six-month medical leave. The paper then shifted the rumor mill into a higher gear by claiming that select iPhone developers have been optimizing their apps for full-screen tablet demos due January 27. This week, the Journal reported that HarperCollins is in talks with Apple about selling digitally enhanced books via iTunes, suggesting the gizmo could double as a digital textbook. If you ask me, there’s no doubt at this point that Apple will debut the iSlate next Wednesday. Otherwise, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, FoxNews, and other big media outlets will all loose out by participating in an embarrassing tech vaporware.